Alpine Bakery is probably known more for their cakes and bakery than their pizza. Their cakes are truly amazing. Just imagine red velvet cake about a foot and a half high by a foot in diameter. The apple strudel is also amazing, their cookies even better. All good stuff. Back on task (Pizza).
As the owners of Alpine are displaced New Yorkers and wanting to bring NY pizza to Roswell they opened a pizza section of the bakery a number of years back. Their reasoning as told to us was "who better to make dough than bakers"? Seems logical enough. Karyn (head of research and wife) and I tried it when they first opened but that was before Pizza Enthusiast was added as a title to my resume. We were in the area this weekend and thought let's swing by there and try it again as what has now become our weekend pizza hunt.
As with many NY pizza places the pizza maker at Alpine is out in the open for the world to see and of course I took a front row seat in observing the preparation. I asked if the pizza maker minded first (something you would not do in NY) as imagine some random person showing up at your work and watching your every move. Not exactly what you want on any given day. In this case we ordered one large cheese and one large white. The price was right $14 for a large 18" pizza.
Everything looked good during preparation. The dough, the sauce and the cheese all prepared and allocated in what appeared like the right proportions. Everything looked great until the end of the process. The pizza stayed on a metal tray when it went into the oven. Instead of sitting on the oven bed to ensure the right amount of char and crunch, the pizza sat on this metal air hole tray. This isn't the only pizza place to do this in Atlanta. I have started to notice this more and more. In NY the pizza goes right from wooden holder right into the oven. Why the tray I have no clue? I hope its not to keep the oven clean. That would be the WRONG answer.
Well the pizzas came out of the oven piping hot. Of course Karyn and I had to try a piece and since there is no seating and its take out only we stepped outside and ate in on the bench.
I risked burning the roof of my mouth as I needed my pizza fix. The sauce and cheese both good and a good amount of dripping oil. The crust as was to be expected wasn't right. It wasn't charred or crunchy enough.
All in all though a pretty good piece of Pizza. Karyn thinks its the best of the ones we tried so far. Maybe so...it was pretty good, the crust still the issue as is the case with so many pizza places in Atlanta. The consolation prize is the bakery next door. It really is the real deal and anything wrong with the pizza could be made better by a perfectly made black and white cookie. Not an even consolation prize but it does help.
Definitely worth trying the pizza. The bakery is truly amazing (and packed all the time). Enjoy.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pizzeria Fortunado - Smyrna
My research team (my wife Karyn) tirelessly scoured the Internet for our next test case. Pizzeria Fortunado (http://www.pizzeriafortunato.com/) was voted best of Atlanta in 2008 and the reviews and pictures looked promising.
We set out for the approximately 30 minute drive (from our house). We arrived and from the outside things looked promising as it sat as an end-cap to a strip shopping center with a big white "suburban eyesore SPECIALS sign" that Kids Eat Free on Mondays, and discount Beer and Drinks on other nights. We walk inside and the interior is understated with high stools to sit at the bar and grated Parmesan, oregano, and red pepper flakes on the table. We are off to a good start. I happened to catch a glance of an already made pizza behind the counter and although the size of the pizza looked promising I could already tell something wasn't right with the crust. The bubbles were on the back end of the crust but the back crust itself wasn't defined enough. Too flat. the crust needed more elevation.
The ambience we liked. They had great wooden high rise tables and it was a nice day so the patio was open and we sat at a half inside/half outside table. I felt like we were in a NY pizza place. Nothing overly exciting. The way it should be.
We ordered. The usual. Pizza and salad. An 18" pizza. None of this 10" nonsense. The only other choice was a personal or a 20". A real man's pizza. I wanted to try the white as well as the plain cheese so we ordered a half and half.
The salad arrived and it looked and tasted great. Shredded mozzarella (which bodes well that the pizza would also use shredded mozzarella vs. strips or blobs), ripe tomatoes and excellent balsamic vinaigarrette dressing.
If I was writing a salad blog this blog would be nothing but postives. But this isn't a salad blog so back to the pizza.
Soon into eating the salad the waitress brought out the pizza rack. It was great to see the pizza rack as I knew a proper sized pizza was on its way.
The pizza arrived. The size as expected, proper. The crust though, something wasn't right. Like the pizza behind the counter, the bubbles were there but the elevation was wrong. I took my first piece, folded it in half and it made a slight cracking noise. Uh-oh. It shouldn't really crack it should bend with a slight tear at the back portion. It should also drip some oil. That didn't happen. I took a bite.
The taste of the cheese and the sauce was about right. Karyn said it had a strange perfume taste. I did not agree with her on this one. The crust was too chewy. Karyn and I both agreed that perhaps the crust was overcooked. We held the pizza up and looked at the pizza from the side and we were able to see the crust sidewall browned too far up towards the top of the pizza.
The white pizza was only OK. Same crust issues and as Karyn said "its like they used some kind of cheese spread vs. different types of cheese and globs of ricotta." I thought it was OK. Karyn is a harsher critic, her response "It's crap, it's all crap".
Well it looks like the quest continues. My research team is back at it again and my waste line is in jeopardy. It appears Karyn won't stop until we find one that we can both agree is worth going back to. We most likely won't be back to Pizzeria Fortunado although we do wish the waitress the best of luck with her pregnancy and pending new arrival. The service I might add was excellent.
Note: If anyone from the restaurant reads this it might be helpful if you add the street address of the restaurant to your website.
=============================================================
Feel free to submit potential targets to our research team at atlantapizza@ymail.com. We will be sure to give credit where credit is due if your selection proves a winner. There will be some type of reward I Just don't know what that will be as of yet.
We set out for the approximately 30 minute drive (from our house). We arrived and from the outside things looked promising as it sat as an end-cap to a strip shopping center with a big white "suburban eyesore SPECIALS sign" that Kids Eat Free on Mondays, and discount Beer and Drinks on other nights. We walk inside and the interior is understated with high stools to sit at the bar and grated Parmesan, oregano, and red pepper flakes on the table. We are off to a good start. I happened to catch a glance of an already made pizza behind the counter and although the size of the pizza looked promising I could already tell something wasn't right with the crust. The bubbles were on the back end of the crust but the back crust itself wasn't defined enough. Too flat. the crust needed more elevation.
The ambience we liked. They had great wooden high rise tables and it was a nice day so the patio was open and we sat at a half inside/half outside table. I felt like we were in a NY pizza place. Nothing overly exciting. The way it should be.
We ordered. The usual. Pizza and salad. An 18" pizza. None of this 10" nonsense. The only other choice was a personal or a 20". A real man's pizza. I wanted to try the white as well as the plain cheese so we ordered a half and half.
The salad arrived and it looked and tasted great. Shredded mozzarella (which bodes well that the pizza would also use shredded mozzarella vs. strips or blobs), ripe tomatoes and excellent balsamic vinaigarrette dressing.
If I was writing a salad blog this blog would be nothing but postives. But this isn't a salad blog so back to the pizza.
Soon into eating the salad the waitress brought out the pizza rack. It was great to see the pizza rack as I knew a proper sized pizza was on its way.
The pizza arrived. The size as expected, proper. The crust though, something wasn't right. Like the pizza behind the counter, the bubbles were there but the elevation was wrong. I took my first piece, folded it in half and it made a slight cracking noise. Uh-oh. It shouldn't really crack it should bend with a slight tear at the back portion. It should also drip some oil. That didn't happen. I took a bite.
The taste of the cheese and the sauce was about right. Karyn said it had a strange perfume taste. I did not agree with her on this one. The crust was too chewy. Karyn and I both agreed that perhaps the crust was overcooked. We held the pizza up and looked at the pizza from the side and we were able to see the crust sidewall browned too far up towards the top of the pizza.
The white pizza was only OK. Same crust issues and as Karyn said "its like they used some kind of cheese spread vs. different types of cheese and globs of ricotta." I thought it was OK. Karyn is a harsher critic, her response "It's crap, it's all crap".
Well it looks like the quest continues. My research team is back at it again and my waste line is in jeopardy. It appears Karyn won't stop until we find one that we can both agree is worth going back to. We most likely won't be back to Pizzeria Fortunado although we do wish the waitress the best of luck with her pregnancy and pending new arrival. The service I might add was excellent.
Note: If anyone from the restaurant reads this it might be helpful if you add the street address of the restaurant to your website.
=============================================================
Feel free to submit potential targets to our research team at atlantapizza@ymail.com. We will be sure to give credit where credit is due if your selection proves a winner. There will be some type of reward I Just don't know what that will be as of yet.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Varasanos' Pizzeria - Buckhead
On a warm summer day and a slow work day my wife and I decided to drive into Buckhead to try Varasanos Pizzeria (http://www.varasanos.com/). The pictures, the owner's focus, the passion, the worlwide attention on the online recipe and the Jezebel Magazine #1 rating was finally going to be put to the test by the Atlanta Pizza Enthusiast.
My hopes were high that finally after nearly 18 years true NY pizza had come to Atlanta. With excitement we parked the car and entered the restaurant. First impressions. Much more "shi-shi (aka fancy)" than I would have expected or wanted from a NY pizzeria. OK, I'll look past that. I mean we are in the middle of Buckhead, Atlanta. Fact is if I was skeptical before (remember this is an 18 year quest) I am now even more skeptical at this point. My wife (not me) pointed out (and she isn't the one from NY) that there was no Parmesan cheese on the table, sure enough she was right, no cheese, no pepper flakes, no oregano, no garlic powder. Not off to a good start.
We ordered. The Nana (The original) and a salad. The salad arrives and my wife loved it. Loved the dressing, and fresh grated parmesan at table side. Nice touch but now more concerned as a true NY Pizza place would not have grated parmesan....I know we are in Buckhead.
The pizza arrived. It's so small. Arghh. NY pizza pies are not small. The cheese is blotched throughout and not uniform. I'm getting upset. However given the pizza's size the crust looked perfectly thin, and it had the perfect "under char" and airy "crust bubbles". The sauce was a little pink colored from the cheese spillover (red and white make pink). The cheese must have been "shi-shi" mozzarella instead of shredded mozzarella (as used in what I view as a true NY pizza).
Now that's a lot of angst going on above. The truth is this pizza was good. The crust was good, the sauce and cheese were good but this was not a true NY pizza. My wife explained that Jeff Varasano (the owner) was trying to achieve a blend between Italy and NY. If that was the goal I think he did this. I would be hard pressed to argue that the pizza wasn't good. It was good. It's just the slices were small (and to the Blissful Glutton's point of not the perfect slice to fold - http://blissfulglutton.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-fiery-latina-rant-of-week.html; I can't agree more.), the sauce was compromised by the cheese, and although oily it was infused olive oil vs. the natural oil from the cheese and sauce. The crust was perfect.
Would I eat there again? Probably so, but not because I want to but because my wife's family (non NY originated) and who like Fritti (which I don't like at all) would like it so I am sure I will come along for the ride.
So the quest continues. Good meal (and the warm Italian donuts were very good) but not NY Pizza.
My hopes were high that finally after nearly 18 years true NY pizza had come to Atlanta. With excitement we parked the car and entered the restaurant. First impressions. Much more "shi-shi (aka fancy)" than I would have expected or wanted from a NY pizzeria. OK, I'll look past that. I mean we are in the middle of Buckhead, Atlanta. Fact is if I was skeptical before (remember this is an 18 year quest) I am now even more skeptical at this point. My wife (not me) pointed out (and she isn't the one from NY) that there was no Parmesan cheese on the table, sure enough she was right, no cheese, no pepper flakes, no oregano, no garlic powder. Not off to a good start.
We ordered. The Nana (The original) and a salad. The salad arrives and my wife loved it. Loved the dressing, and fresh grated parmesan at table side. Nice touch but now more concerned as a true NY Pizza place would not have grated parmesan....I know we are in Buckhead.
The pizza arrived. It's so small. Arghh. NY pizza pies are not small. The cheese is blotched throughout and not uniform. I'm getting upset. However given the pizza's size the crust looked perfectly thin, and it had the perfect "under char" and airy "crust bubbles". The sauce was a little pink colored from the cheese spillover (red and white make pink). The cheese must have been "shi-shi" mozzarella instead of shredded mozzarella (as used in what I view as a true NY pizza).
Now that's a lot of angst going on above. The truth is this pizza was good. The crust was good, the sauce and cheese were good but this was not a true NY pizza. My wife explained that Jeff Varasano (the owner) was trying to achieve a blend between Italy and NY. If that was the goal I think he did this. I would be hard pressed to argue that the pizza wasn't good. It was good. It's just the slices were small (and to the Blissful Glutton's point of not the perfect slice to fold - http://blissfulglutton.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-fiery-latina-rant-of-week.html; I can't agree more.), the sauce was compromised by the cheese, and although oily it was infused olive oil vs. the natural oil from the cheese and sauce. The crust was perfect.
Would I eat there again? Probably so, but not because I want to but because my wife's family (non NY originated) and who like Fritti (which I don't like at all) would like it so I am sure I will come along for the ride.
So the quest continues. Good meal (and the warm Italian donuts were very good) but not NY Pizza.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Want A Pizza At Cowboys Stadium? That’ll Be a Handful of Twenties
Although not Atlanta focused per se Pizza related none the less. This is a re-post. Some crudeness removed to ensure article remained family focused. Loses some of the humor but safer that way.
===================================
One of the first things I did when looking into the Cowboys new stadium was to see what kind of food they have. This makes sense. I am a fat person, so my first inquiry into any new facility will be of a culinary variety. But when you go to the official site for the Double J’s new McMansionrena, you can only get a broad overview of what to expect from the stadium catering. There’s no menu, and there are certainly no prices. Because if you have to ask, of course, then you aren’t a true fan.
But one enterprising fellow, Steven M. Sipple (great last name) at Husker Extra (via With Leather and The Sporting Blog), did just that. And what did he find on the luxury suite menu there? Ooh, look! Cheese pizza! That sounds okay. What’s it cost?
Try $90.
Cowboyrita drinks for 14 bucks a pop… Tuesday’s tour took our group into a suite that can be leased for $800,000 a year — which doesn’t include the price of game or event tickets but does offer a large pizza for $90 (no toppings), 12-packs of domestic beer for $66 apiece and a four-pack of Red Bull for $22, among other ridiculously priced items.
That’s $90 for a plain pizza. It doesn’t fly. It’s just a pizza. Want fresh basil on it? That’ll be an extra $20 there, fella. I can almost see paying $90 for a pizza if it’s flown by helicopter directly from Totonno’a in New York or Modern Apizza in New Haven. That would be a $90 pizza. But I suspect the luxury suite pizza at the new Cowboys Stadium is closer to a lukewarm Red Baron pie served in a cardboard box.
The other items are no less egregious. $14 for a Cowboyrita? Unless it’s served in an actual size cowboy hat, I’m not biting. The frozen margarita is always an easy way for vendors to rip off customers by giving them a slush puppy with three drops of tequila in it. And $66 for a 12-pack of Bud? Red Bull for $22? That’s insane. And just WAIT until you see what they charge for gruel.
I haven’t seen gruel prices this inflated since the Depression. Hope you got your Party Pass, gang!
===================================
One of the first things I did when looking into the Cowboys new stadium was to see what kind of food they have. This makes sense. I am a fat person, so my first inquiry into any new facility will be of a culinary variety. But when you go to the official site for the Double J’s new McMansionrena, you can only get a broad overview of what to expect from the stadium catering. There’s no menu, and there are certainly no prices. Because if you have to ask, of course, then you aren’t a true fan.
But one enterprising fellow, Steven M. Sipple (great last name) at Husker Extra (via With Leather and The Sporting Blog), did just that. And what did he find on the luxury suite menu there? Ooh, look! Cheese pizza! That sounds okay. What’s it cost?
Try $90.
Cowboyrita drinks for 14 bucks a pop… Tuesday’s tour took our group into a suite that can be leased for $800,000 a year — which doesn’t include the price of game or event tickets but does offer a large pizza for $90 (no toppings), 12-packs of domestic beer for $66 apiece and a four-pack of Red Bull for $22, among other ridiculously priced items.
That’s $90 for a plain pizza. It doesn’t fly. It’s just a pizza. Want fresh basil on it? That’ll be an extra $20 there, fella. I can almost see paying $90 for a pizza if it’s flown by helicopter directly from Totonno’a in New York or Modern Apizza in New Haven. That would be a $90 pizza. But I suspect the luxury suite pizza at the new Cowboys Stadium is closer to a lukewarm Red Baron pie served in a cardboard box.
The other items are no less egregious. $14 for a Cowboyrita? Unless it’s served in an actual size cowboy hat, I’m not biting. The frozen margarita is always an easy way for vendors to rip off customers by giving them a slush puppy with three drops of tequila in it. And $66 for a 12-pack of Bud? Red Bull for $22? That’s insane. And just WAIT until you see what they charge for gruel.
I haven’t seen gruel prices this inflated since the Depression. Hope you got your Party Pass, gang!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Pizza Enthusiast Vote #1
I'll throw out Paizano's (http://www.paizanos.com/) on the square in downtown Norcross. It's hit and miss but mostly hit. Thin crust, good sauce and cheese.
Pizza Enthusiast Entry #1
Welcome to the Pizza enthusiast blog. I'd like Atlanta Pizza Enthusiast to become a place for Atlanta Pizza Lovers to unite in our love of pizza. A Pizza Information Exchange (aka PIE) of sorts. Enjoy the blog and perhaps we'll grab a slice together in the near future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
